Direct response fundraising should be multichannel.  I say this even after a year where many nonprofit programs were reacting in real-time, online to a myriad of current events.  The speed of their response to challenging issues allowed them to fundraise quite successfully for their causes, as well as keep their online constituent base active, engaged and aware.

Truly donor-centric communications allow donors to access information in the channel they prefer and provides a coordinated and digestible flow of information. This doesn’t mean that everything should be integrated or that all messaging in different channels should mirror each other.  In fact, we know that some of the most powerful engagement opportunities are around breaking news or other events in the news cycle that will be gone long before a direct mail piece can be created much less reach homes.

That said, there are plenty of opportunities to integrate your fundraising program even in the most tumultuous of years.  And not only will your constituents react positively, our data shows that multichannel donors are the most valuable donors for an organization to have over the long term.

It’s our responsibility to ensure that the messaging is cohesive and coordinated.

In the real world of people opening their mail, answering their phones, and checking their inboxes, a multichannel donor is a person who knows what matters to them, consumes information in a number of ways and dedicates some time and their dollars to the cause that moves them.

Maybe it was the person that asked them to make a donation, or the photo on that envelope or at the top of that email, or a headline in large font, or simply the timing of an email that was formatted nicely on their iPhone8 while they were waiting on a train platform – whatever they trigger, later that night they remembered to go on your organization’s website and make a donation.

The most important thing is that they decide to give! But it’s also great if they decide to give in a channel different than their first gift.  That change and movement to being “channel agnostic” means that they are more likely to give again to your organization, be more loyal and give more money of their lifetime.

So, how do you embrace multichannel messaging when planning for year-end? The reality is that every detail matters when it comes to achieving year-round fundraising success in a multichannel world.  Year-end fundraising is a unique challenge because of the competition for dollars among organizations and a limited number of donors.  The sheer volume of fundraising appeals by nonprofit organizations is enough to overwhelm any person who opens their mailbox or their in-box. 

As a direct response agency, we’ve learned to adapt and innovate in the unique environment of year-end fundraising.  Below is a quick overview to how we approach year-end fundraising success in a multichannel world.

  1. Create a communications matrix that honors the donors’ perspective. Align your channels by reviewing your year-end calendar for mail, email, web and social promotion and telephone solicitations. Consider how your donor and non-donors audiences will react to getting multiple appeals for funds in different channels.  Adopt a donor-centric approach and make sure your appeal calendar is driven by their needs. Respect and accept those things that won’t cross channels (not everything can be integrated!).
  2. Scour your organization for other opportunities to coordinate messaging. These might include newsletters or magazines, direct mail acknowledgment envelope inserts, welcome kits and welcome series, videos or other online resources.
  3. Segment your audiences carefully and integrate those segments into the communications matrix. Think about the best way to approach each with the correct ask or cultivation. For example, who is receiving direct mail during the year-end email series? What about those who aren’t? Also plan for coordination in gift asks – although donors will often give higher gifts online, it’s important to keep gift strings similar across the channels.
  4. Fundraising techniques aside, it’s the content and messaging that you create that will drive your supporter’s attention span and engagement. Donors want to be asked and inspired to make a year-end gift.  Take the lead-time you need to produce engaging content that can span across direct mail appeals, emails, videos, year-in-review annual reports, holiday cards, infographics and more. Remember, donors have short attention spans (especially online donors), so highlighting key points is important whatever the channel – direct mail letter P.S. content and reply devices and email masthead and sidebars, to be exact.
  5. Carefully consider your email calendar in December so you can create the right cadence for your supporters. If last year taught us anything, we know that nonprofit organizations will be sending lots of emails in the month of December – especially in the last week! How will your messages stand out?  Consider the dates that your direct mail will reach donors in-home and if your email and online content is complementary.  Look at last year’s giving trends, when did most people give online?
  6. Acknowledge the multichannel touches – we often reference or show a visual of a direct mail package that the donor is receiving in an email message. And we’re careful to strategically include dedicated URLs in direct mail packages if donors want to make their gift “immediately online.” We often highlight that we’re starting a telemarketing campaign and that “they may hear from someone.”
  7. On your website, be sure to use your above-the-fold content areas to highlight the theme of your year-end campaign online and offline. This year we’ve seen the percentage of web giving from direct mail donors increase and we’ve been able to attribute some of it directly back to certain mail pieces.  Deploy a lightbox on your website to catch the attention of your visitors, especially during the last few days of the year.  And make sure that it’s quick and easy to give on December 30-31 – the days when most visitors are coming to make a donation.
  8. Use advertising channels at year-end to reach your supporters wherever they might be. Search engine marketing, Facebook ads, and remarketing to visitors of your website or your donation pages can play a vital role in creating visibility for your year-end campaigns, and increase year-end giving across all of the channels.
  9. Dip your toe into more advanced targeting tactics, if you have the funds and bandwidth. IP targeting, anonymous cookie retargeting are more costly but will allow you to expand your reach to important constituencies.
  10. Make it social! Using online social networks at year-end is vitally important to connect with your supporters. Dedicate staff time to posting year-end content on social media channels (and responding to comments!), and schedule coordinated tweets and posts on all channels.  In your emails and on your Web pages make it easy with social share tools for your supporters to spread the word about your year-end campaigns. 
  11. Keep testing and trying new things. Every audience is different which means it’s vitally important to test to see how your audience responds to multichannel tactics.
  12. Don’t neglect January as an important time to thank donors—across all channels—for their year-end support.

Multichannel fundraising does require more effort and resources. But the end result is a cohesive messaging arc and a larger group of dedicated donors.

Mwosi Swenson is the President and CEO of Mal Warwick Donordigital.  She has worked in direct response fundraising for the past 20 years and has managed the direct mail, telemarketing and online programs for some of the nation’s most respected environmental, advocacy, and political organizations.